The history of aviation is replete with various amphibious aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. The famed PBY's of World War II and the pontoon supported planes flown by the "Bush" pilots of Alaska have always festooned the popular lore of aviation and are easily identifiable to the public and the aviation community. Yet, these aircraft are of limited utility and are subject to usage limitations which have curtailed their widespread application and have seen them fall into disfavor particularly in the military.
Heretofore, in this field, there has been no successful marriage of stability and maneuverability in amphibious aircraft. The seaplane of PBY design was a highly stable water and air craft, yet it was a ponderous vehicle to maneuver. The Bush pilots' aircraft have a center of gravity well above the pontoons which create lateral instability when the aircraft executes a high speed turn on water. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,950,486.
In the patent literature, A. M. Lippisch in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,190,582 and 3,627,235 proposed the use of pontoons mounted on the outer extremities of an amphibious aircraft. Lippisch described his vehicle as a high-speed aircraft, low-speed boat, and as a ground effect flying vehicle. Lippisch's designs were so inherently transversely unstable during a high-speed turn while on water that the inventor mounted auxiliary floats 19 and auxiliary wings 20 to attempt to stabilize banking maneuvers.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a stable, maneuverable, amphibious vehicle capable of high-speed operation on the water and in the air.